Angels of the Voracious Chalice
The Angels of the Voracious Chalice, known commonly as The Voracious, are an infamous and savage Chaos Warband that were once members of the noble but doomed Knights of the Throne Space Marine Chapter. This Lost Chapter of the Blood were doomed to the Blood God Khorne by fate, but are now bound to the Prince of Pleasure by choice. Connoisseurs of blood, they seek new flavours by mixing the blood of xenos, daemon and the myriad breeds of humans together. Special pleasure is taken in rite of Black Sanguinalia, an impromptu celebration that takes place whenever they defeat their own gene kin in battle. Chapter History For more information, see the History of the Knights of the Throne The Angels of the Voracious Chalice were born with the demise of the Thronus Equites. ''Although their long road to the Dark Princes service left them battered and well under full Chapter strength, the newly born Voracious who ventured out into the mysterious systems beyond the Emperor's Light were still a terrifying force by any reckoning. The ancient Xenos civilisations they encountered had never expected an attack from Imperial space, as the Astronomican had never shone on this strange and distant region of space. A single squad, sometimes even a single warrior, was often enough to bring a world into what soon became known as the Heresiarchy. The Imperium, blissfully unaware of their continued existence, assumed the Chapter had been destroyed. Moreover, the fall of Cadia and the coming of the Great Vortex soon left those Imperial worlds near the Nameless Systems cut off, doomed to be part of the so-called "Dark Imperium." It has been in the wake of such disaster that the Voracious have begun their triumphant return to what can only now loosely be called "Imperial space", for even before the Great Vortex came this was the most extreme frontier, from whence messages could take neigh on centuries to reach Holy Terra, and visa versa. Dante himself, Regent of the Dark Imperium, has only recently come to know of the Voracious - and it too far away and too occupied to take any action against them. Thus it is that the Voracious build an Empire of their own largely without organised resistance, seizing cut-off worlds one by one, their prophetic abilities guiding them to weak and unprotected targets. Chapter Homeworld ''For information on their former homeworld, see Knights of the Throne Notable Campaigns The Voracious have plagued many worlds and species, constantly seeking to expand their platte. Their precognitive abilities allow them to plan campaigns against targets they know are vulnerable, and they only strike against a powerful target if they have an overwhelming desire to sample their blood or are driven to do so out of religious animosity (against a particular devout Imperial world, or followers of Khorne, for example). Chapter Organisation The Angels of the Voracious Chalice are divided into Heresiarchies, each lead by a Heresiarch, whose leadership is as much theological and philosophical as it is based on intimidation and combat prowess. Hierarchy *'Arch-Heresiarch' - The supreme leader of the Voracious their small interstellar Empire beyond Imperial space, to whom each each lower Heresiarchy owes allegiance. The Arch-Heresiarch is believed to possess a divine right to rule in the manner of a feudal lord on their lost homeworld, though it is not the Emperor who grants this right, but the Prince of Pleasure. Alexandre Kin-Slayer has held this position since the turn and shows no sign of being challenged for leadership in the immediate future. *'High Heresiarch' - A High Heresiarch is vested with authority by the Arch-Heresiarch, and acts as his regent over a delegated Sector of Space. The rank can be revoked at the Arch-Heresiarch's whim, and unlike in most Chaos war bands cannot be taken by assassination or coup, lest the Arch-Heresiarch's wrath be incurred. *'Heresiarch' - High Heresiarch's in turn delegate their authority to handpicked Heresiarch's, whose domain may range from a single city, a continent or a whole world depending on circumstance. Specialist Formations The Voracious still make use of Deathstorm Strike Forces, and field an equivalent to the Death Company known as the Black Vanguard. They also continue to make use of aspirants in Scout squads. Order of Battle The Voracious are organised into Hosts, each lead by a Heresiarch and each with a particular role. These Hosts, slightly smaller than a regular Space Marine company and usually heavily reenforced with thrall soldiers of the Blood Watch, operate with limited autonomy. Unlike a Space Marine company, Hosts are not permanent, and are broken up and reorganised once they have fulfilled the mission they created for. It is theorised this is a measure enforced by the Arch-Heresiarch to prevent rivals to his uncontested authority emerging. Some Hosts known to be active currently include: * The Host of Discipline - lead by Clovis the Blade, currently tasked with occupying and governing the strategically vital world of Catatranka. The Host of Discipline primary goal is to eradicate religious dissidence and enforce worship of Slaanesh as the sole and universal religion. Clovis also holds the title of High Heresiarch of the Outer Dark, giving him seniority over the Host of Punishment and the Host of Conquest. * The Host of Punishment - lead by Philipe the Clement, this roving fleet based Host is currently engaged in anti-piracy and anti-rebel patrols in already secured systems. Its modus operandi is as ruthless as its name suggests. * The Host of Conquest - lead by Martel One-Winged, the Host of Conquest is correctly engaged in a campaign against those worlds of the Outer Dark not yet conquered by the Heresiarchy. Para-3.2.1., Damnartus, the Clump and the old Sub-Sector capital Malcadoria are all potential targets for it's next attack. * The Host of Tribute - the Host of Tribute operates in the Nameless Systems, and as such little is known about it, save that it is responsible for the keeping the Xenos vassals of the Heresiarchy in order. * The Host of Honour - The Host of Honour is the personal, elite force of the Arch-Heresiarch himself, and accompanies him wherever he travels. It is notably more powerful than any other individual host. * The Host of Worship - The Host of Worship consists of those brothers of the Voracious who have offered to serve the Daemon Prince Galgal directly, and in this regard has a similar function to the Host of Honour. However, unlike the Host of Honour, the Host of Worship is notably smaller than the other Hosts. It is currently stationed on Catatranka, though whether it is cooperating with or competing with the Host of Discipline is hard to tell. This host has no Heresiarch. Combat Doctrine The Voracious are still, despite everything, sons of Sanguinius and as such value speed, grace and martial prowess in close combat. Recent traitors, they still sometimes adhere to Codex standard tactics, though this decreases over time. However, their once strong sense of honour, which once motivated them to seek pitched battles and personal combat, has now been replaced by a sadistic streak. The Voracious still enjoy ''one-on-one duels, but only with enemies they are especially inclined to toy with - and they no longer fight as fair as they once did. The Voracious have taken to relying on mortal human and xenos auxiliaries to perform much of their dirty work, preferring to avoid "boring" combat duties in favour of dramatically timed and brutally cruel interventions once their blood thralls have the enemy already occupied. The blood thralls, for their part, are mindlessly obedient to the Voracious and gladly take on their role as meat shields and distractions for their Masters. It is in this fashion that the Voracious have ceased to resemble an idolised version of Arelian chivalry, and become a dark reflection of the often more sinister reality of feudal relations. These heavy armed warriors gladly send their bonded serfs to die with little to no reward for their service, and take all the glory of every victory for themselves. Gene-Seed = Chapter Beliefs The Voracious have largely abandoned most of their former cult activities, and now behave in a manner typical of most Slaaneshi warbands. However, the secular culture of Arel still has a strong mark, though now twisted and distorted into a parody of their former selves. The Voracious still consider themselves civilised and persist in maintaining a courtly, aristocratic culture - though the concept of honour is now decidedly absent. Some Voracious are known to worship the false angel Galgal, but this is not necessarily a widespread practice. The Voracious despise all other Chaos Gods save Slaanesh, and naturally abhor Khornates of all kinds, and thus do not consider themselves part of the Long War. Even relations with the Emperor's Children and other Slaaneshi Warband of that lineage are poor, for the Voracious reject any cooperation with non-Slaaneshi, and accuse the Emperor's Children of being slaves to the Despoiler. The Voracious view themselves first and foremost as enemies of Khorne and Khornates, and their existence as a noble crusade to free the galaxy from "barbarism." The Voracious' concept of civilisation, however, includes few moral considerations save that pleasure is commendable and servants of false Gods (that is, all other Gods save Slaanesh) must die. On their own worlds, the Voracious practice slavery, routine torture and abuse of mortals on top of frequent "harvests" of blood from populations that are treated as livestock. The Voracious have neither any particular sense of hatred or affection towards Xenos species, and will attempt to subjugate Xenos populations as they would humans if they can. The Heresiarchy of the Nameless Systems is known to collect tribute and hire mercenaries from a collection of nearby minor Xenos species, and to conscript Xenos slave-soldiers from worlds they have conquered. Some reports even indicate that the Hresisarchy engages in missionary activity for the Dark Prince amongst the aliens in nearby space. Notable Personnel The leader of the Voracious is the Arch-Heresiarch '''Alexandre Kin-Slayer', who appears almost like the Primarch Sanguinius, save for his wings which are pitch black and drip endlessly with blood. He carries no ranged weapons, entering battle only with a great power sword in one hand and the Voracious Chalice itself in the other. Alexandre considers himself a civilised and sensitive being who has lead his brothers to freedom from the “twin thrones” of the Emperor of Terra and the Blood God, and leads the Voracious according to his own code of warped idealism. Other notable leaders of the Voracious include Clovis the Blade, Heresiarch of Catatranka and the Host of Discipline, Martel One-Winged, Heresiarch of the Conquering Host and '''Philipe the Clement, '''Heresiarch of the Host of Punishment. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours Chapter Badge Chapter Fleet Chapter Relics Relations Allies Enemies Notable Quotes By the Angels of the Voracious Chalice "Regrettable, that they did not join us. Yet, without their stubbornness, we should not have enjoyed the fine vintage of their despair and anger once we have beaten them." Alexandre Kin-Slayer, on the First Black Sanguinula About the Angels of the Voracious Chalice "They betrayed our friendship, and our trust. We shall have vengeance. That is all there is to say upon the matter." - Chapter Master Gon Tanjiro of the Blazing Fellowship "Behold, our saviours, behold, Angels, Angels from the beyond the Dark! Terra's Light abandoned us, but the God of Pleasure sends us his angels to comfort us in the new, eternal night!" - Anyononmous ravings of a Catatranka hedge preacher "Who are they to say we must worship only Slaanesh? Are not the Four ultimately one? Who are they to ban our ancient rites of praise to the Blood God, to burn at the stake the humble priests of Nurgle, to place under lock and key the wisdom of Tzeentch? Why, this is intolerable! Imperial rule was better!" - last words of Catatrankan nobleman Edwiß Kämpfer "Drained, drained, everything they took... Remember nothing... all gone.... we serve now.... serve them alone.... serve.... Masters... Love.... Masters" - Notian blood thrall "We glory in the name of the Heresiarchy!" - Eduarc Frankstein, commander of the Blood Watch Category:Blood Angels Successors Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Space Marine Chapters